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Probrewer.com's Top Beer Industry News of 2017

Top Stories of 2017http://www.probrewer.com/top-stories-of-2017/
Here we go, with a look at the past. It has been a wild ride in the industry the last three years, and 2017 was no exception. More big changes, which will dramatically shape the future.

BA Defined Craft Up 6% in 2016
MARCH 28, 2017
The year starts out where it left off, with the annual announcement by the Brewers Association of the previous year’s craft numbers. It was no surprise that 2016 was a tough year, but all things considered, growth was still fairly strong with 6% increase in BA-defined craft brewery production. This was the smallest increase since 2008. Retail dollars grew by 10%.

Boston Beer Drops 15% in First Qtr.
APRIL 27, 2017
One story emerging in 2017 was the slowdown by the large and well-established craft breweries. And no one represents that group more than Boston Beer Company. No one was surprised that sales were down, but the extent of the drop was a bit of a shock. The company reported a 15% decrease in shipments equaling a 707,000 barrel drop in its beer, cider, tea and hard seltzer brands. The company reported a net income of $5.7 million, which was a $1.3 million decline from the same period previous year.

ABInBev Dips Toe Further into Craft Beer Media
JUNE 5, 2017
We got used to Big Beer buying into the craft category in 2015 and 2016. And we got used to ABInBev buying into the craft segment in creative ways such as dabbling in the homebrewing sector. But when ZX Ventures, a division of ABInBev purchased an ownership interest in RateBeer (the actual purchase was in 2016 but it wassn’t announced until mid-2017), the industry was shocked. It was like Ford Motor Company buying into Road & Track magazine. It showed ABInBev was willing and ready to go deep into the craft category.